The financial costs and overwhelming emotions of water damage can drain property owners. Acting fast to preserve what you can while taking inventory of what you lost can be a devastating experience for homeowners.
Navigating the insurance claims process while cleaning up property damage and coping with grief over invaluable losses, such as family heirlooms and photos, may leave you feeling helpless. Fortunately, you don’t have to do it alone.
Retaining an experienced water damage claims lawyer can significantly help during this overwhelming time. An attorney can take over filing your water damage claim, including communications and negotiations with liable insurers. Schedule a free case evaluation to discuss your options.
Causes of Water Damage Covered by Homeowners Insurance
The type of water damage your home insurance covers varies by company, policy coverage, and state. However, generally, policies cover sudden and accidental water damage.
These types of water damage include:
- Appliance Overflow: Homeowners insurance generally covers overflow from appliances like your washing machine or dishwasher. For example, if a washer or dishwasher hose suddenly breaks and floods your laundry room or kitchen and surrounding rooms. However, your insurer may dispute your claim if the hose’s wear and tear caused the incident.
- Bursting Pipes: A frozen or rusted pipe that suddenly bursts can cause significant damage within minutes of flooding your home. Bursting pipes is a common reason for filing a water damage claim with insurance. Liability disputes may arise if the insurer believes the homeowner's negligence caused the incident, such as failing to winterize pipes in cold climates.
- Fire Extinguishing: Water damage from extinguishing a fire can result in a viable water damage claim, whether it comes from a firehose or a sprinkler system.
- Storm-Related: Homeowners insurance may cover storm-related water damages caused by heavy rain, hail, freezing rain, and snow. For example, if heavy winds cause a tree to fall onto your house, your insurer will cover water damage resulting from the incident, including wood rot and mold.
- Leaking Roof: Storm damage frequently results in roof leaks, causing water damages that homeowners' insurance policies may cover. However, if your insurer determines improper or inadequate roof maintenance caused the water damage, they may dispute your claim.
After you report damages to your insurance company, an insurance adjuster will inspect the water damage to determine whether your homeowner’s insurance policy covers it. They will use moisture meters to detect water damage, take photographs and measurements, and estimate how much it will cost to repair the damage—before estimating a timeline for repairs and compensation.
Water Damage Causes Not Covered by Homeowners Insurance
Standard homeowners insurance does not cover gradual water damage or water resulting from neglect or poor maintenance, among other things. Water damage that insurers do not cover when filing a water damage claim with insurance include:
Source of Water Damage
Your insurance will not cover the source of water damage. For example, if a washer or dishwasher breaks and causes water damage, your insurer will cover damages like the floors. However, they will not cover the cost of new appliances.
Maintenance Failure
Your insurance will not cover water damage resulting from neglect and lack of maintenance, such as not repairing a leaking sink or running toilet that causes gradual water damage.
Natural Disaster
Standard homeowners insurance policies do not cover water damage from external flooding caused by natural disasters, such as tsunamis and hurricanes. It may not cover water damage caused by earthquakes, landslides, and mudslides. These circumstances require either an endorsement or a separate policy.
Sewage Backup
Sewage backups or sump pump failures causing backups can cause immense damage and require expensive cleanup. Most homeowner insurance policies offer optional sewer backup or sump dump coverage. It may not cover these damages without that additional endorsement.
Deliberate Acts
Your insurance does not cover intentional acts that lead to water damage. For example, if you intentionally keep the heat off during freezing periods, causing frozen pipes to burst. Or deliberately setting your house on fire, causing water damage from being extinguished.
Challenges in Filing for Water Damage Claim With Insurance That Warrants the Need for a Claims Attorney
Due to the complexity of water damage claims, retain an experienced water damage claims lawyer to handle the process.
Examples of challenges that may warrant the need for an attorney are as follows:
- Denying Claims: Claim denials are common for unrepresented claimants. Denials may occur for various reasons, such as arguing that external causes like flooding caused water damage or that a homeowner was negligent in maintaining the cause of water damage.
- Undervaluing Claims: Your insurer may agree to settle but make a low offer. Liable insurers often downplay the extent of damages to minimize their company's costs. They may also argue that certain repairs aren't necessary to mitigate their losses.
- Policy Disputes: Insurance policies have many limitations and exclusions for damages, including those from water. For example, insurers exclude damages caused by gradual water leaks, mold damage, and flooding. These exclusions may lead to disputes over actual causes and coverage.
- Delaying Payments: Liable insurance companies may delay payments, making it challenging for homeowners unable to cover emergency repairs.
- Bad-Faith Tactics: In some cases, liable insurance companies use bad-faith tactics by not properly investigating or wrongfully denying or delaying claims. An experienced water damage claims lawyer can help take legal action against insurers who act in bad faith.
Water damage often involves losing valuable things that may be replaced by filing a water damage claim with insurance. Unfortunately, water damage can destroy invaluable, irreplaceable things, such as family photo albums, keepsakes, and antiques.
While no amount of money can replace sentimental losses, an experienced water damage claims attorney can seek financial compensation for these items to provide relief. Contact a local lawyer to discuss your options today.